Quilt produced by Angola prison quilters, who volunteer and raise money for the prison's hospice program. Source.
Greetings you mavens of cloth,
Prison-based art therapy and rehabilitation programs are taking place around the country. And the focus of today's post is on one in particular, at the maximum security prison known as Angola, in Louisiana.
According to the Atlantic, "There are more than 6,000 men currently imprisoned at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola—three-quarters of them are there for life, and nearly 80 percent are African American." Plus, the state has the highest incarceration rate of any other in the country.
I came to learn about the quilt-makers of Angola prison specifically, through the work of Lori Waselchuk, who's acclaimed book of photography, Grace Before Dying, features day-to-day moments of the prison's hospice program, including the quilt program supporting it, which raises funds through auction sales. The pieces are nothing short of personal testimonies, and remarkable expressions of redemption and loss. But even more than that, they are dignified shrouds made for the living, who are facing the end of life.
The work of two notable artists are also worth mentioning here. And they are Hank Willis Thomas, who's quilt, Angola Bound (2014), was created from decommissioned Angola prison uniforms. As well as the new graphic work by street artist Shepard Fairy, who's murals on prison reform speak to the benefits of art therapy for inmates, and advocates for rehabilitation vs. indefinite incarceration.
May you find meaning and goodness in the expression of these individuals. And as always, thanks for visiting BLOCK.
Resist,
A-
PS. For even greater context, see the Oscar nominated documentary, 13th, about mass incarceration and the legal framework that supports it. Radicalized Mass Incarceration Poverty, Prejudice, and Punishment, by Lawrence D. Bobo and Victor Thompson, Harvard University, The Milwaukee Experiment; What can one prosecutor do about the mass incarceration of African-Americans? By Jeffery Tobin, The New Yorker, and Chart of the Week: The black-white gap in incarceration rates, by George Gao, Pew Research, chart imaged below.
Quilt, created by volunteer inmates of the Angola prison hospice program. Source.
The incarcerated hospice volunteer quilters with their piece, Travelin' On, 2009. The auction of these quilts made by volunteer quilt-makers, "allows volunteers to buy coffee machines, radios and books for the isolation cells now serving as hospice rooms. Purchased items such as sweatpants, specialty foods and slippers provide the same small comforts we’d all hope for at our hour." From the book review of Grace Before Dying, by Lori Waselchuk, at Prison Photography.
“The Quilt” made by members/ inmates and caregivers in the Angola Hospice program, 201. Photograph by Keith Calhoun.
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
-Emily Dickenson
A quilt by the volunteer quilters of Angola prison, photographed by Lori Waselchuk for her award-winnng book of photography, Grace Before Dying. The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities awarded Grace Before Dying a "Publishing Initiative Grant" which supported the writing of the book.
Also worth mentioning: Art & Graphic Design, on Prison Reform
Hank Willis Thomas, Angola Bound, 2014. Quilt made out of decommissioned prison uniforms from Angola prison, installation view. STUDIO LHOOQ/ THE ARTIST AND JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY, NEW YORK. Sourced at ArtNews, here.
The famous street artist, Shepard Fairey was invited to participate in the Open Source project, through the Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Philadelphia Mural Arts program. You can download a copy of your own prison reform graphics by Fairey, here.